Rewriting the Past
by pinkfluffycotton
Summary: After the match with Rakuzan High, things finally seemed to be all right again. Kuroko looked forward to his future. But when Kuroko wanted to read a library book that he borrowed from school, he was thrown to another place, another time... along with Akashi. Can they change the ending of the new world? Some Akashi X Kuroko involved.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hi guys! It's my first fanfic, and I've decided to write about Kuroko no Basket. Here are some things to know:  
-Updates depend on my schedule because I'm a busy person.  
-I do not own any of the characters.  
-It is only rated T because I MIGHT include some... language in here, although it's not likely. Otherwise, this is for all ages. :)  
-In this story, Akashi is a little... nice in the beginning. If you like the yandere, crazy Akashi, just wait. It will appear more often later on.

Thanks for reading!

* * *

Kuroko Tetsuya successfully defeated all of the "Generation of Miracles". It was surprising to him that he even managed to defeat Akashi Seijuro, the captain of all of these geniuses. When Akashi shook hands with Kuroko after his defeat, all Kuroko felt was relief. First, his dream was finally accomplished; the Generation of Miracles was back to what it was – a happy, powerful team. Second, even though it was Akashi's first defeat, Akashi wasn't mad to the point that he sent a pair of scissors flying over his head right after the match. Though it's not like Akashi carried a pair of scissors with him around, right? Kuroko shivered at the thought.

"Hurry up, Kuroko," Kagami urged Kuroko to pack up and head home for the night, "I'm so exhausted…"

The team members were scattered around their locker room, incredibly tired after the match. In addition, Kagami even had to enter the Zone several times to defeat Akashi. Although the Zone was indeed helpful, it drained Kagami's stamina to the point that he could barely talk. Kuroko took a seat on the floor next to Kagami, who seemed close to passing out.

"If you're going to throw up, please do it in the restroom," Kuroko pointed to the hallway. Kagami didn't reply. Even if he was agitated by those blunt words, he was too tired to even argue with Kuroko.

"Whatever, just hurry up…" Kagami muttered and closed his eyes. He had a slight snore when he slept.

"Kuroko, are you done packing up?" Hyuga walked over to where the two were, "Like Kagami said, we are all exhausted. But we still have practice a few days later, so we should get home fast and take a shower. Right, Riko?"

"That's right. We're not going to relax just because we won against Rakuzan!" The coach was the most pumped of them all, mainly because she didn't have the run around the court for forty minutes, unlike the rest of the team. Even Furi, who barely did anything, was tired because of the immense pressure that was on him when he faced Akashi one on one. It was, honestly, like sending him to his death. _I have to apologize to him after this_, Riko thought.

"I'm done packing. Sorry for the inconvenience." Kuroko gathered up his stuff and Hyuga kicked Kagami awake. Kagami groaned and got up. The entire team strolled to the exit of the stadium together.

When they stepped onto the brick floor outside of the stadium, reporters gathered around the team immediately. While the team struggled through the crowd, Kuroko silently slipped away using his misdirection. Misdirection can really be helpful at times. However, he did not go unnoticed, for he was immediately surrounded by his old friends.

"KUROKOCCHI!" Kuroko heard a scream that could only belong to one person. He sidestepped, and Kise Ryota fell face down onto the brick floor. "I-it hurts…"

The other three Generation of Miracles – Aomine, Midorima, and Murasakibara - arrived too.

"Hey, congrats," Aomine patted Kuroko on the back. Midorima just fixed his glasses with one hand. The other hand held his lucky item of the day.

"Hmph, good job, Kuroko." Midorima still acted like a tsundere.

"Kuro-chin~ Do you want some chips?" Murasakibara offered. Kuroko pushed his offer away nicely.

Kuroko smiled and looked up to see their faces. "Where's Akashi-kun?"

Aomine shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe he's crying in a corner or something."

Aomine didn't realize his mistake until it was too late.

The rest of the group gasped as a pair of dangerous-looking, sharp, and gleaming scissors flew right by Aomine's cheek. Even with animal instincts, Aomine couldn't dodge that one. The Emperor's Eye was quite useful at times like this. That eye could basically see the Aomine's future and make sure that the pair of scissors would not miss its target. Of course, since Aomine was not dead (just stone still), we can all assume that it was intentional that it missed.

"Who's crying in a corner, Daiki?" The red haired boy broke into the conversation casually. The temperature dropped a little, and Kise, who was on the ground, curled up into a ball and snuggled against the closest person: Aomine.

"N-no one." Aomine swallowed, fully aware that his life was flashing before his eyes, "I wasn't talking about you."

Akashi raised his eyebrows, "Really? Who's your coach again?"

Murasakibara patted Aomine on the head and offered him his entire bag of chips as consolation.

"K-Katsunori Harasawa."

"Katsunori? I'll tell him to increase your training by double next week." Akashi said it like it was nothing and turned to Kuroko, "Tetsuya."

"Yes, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko said in his monotone.

"Your win was just a fluke. No one can beat me. I am _absolute_." Akashi walked away with the scariest expression possible. Even though he returned to his real self during the match with Seirin, sometimes the 'other' Akashi would still resurface. Plus, he liked the feeling of throwing scissors…

"I thought Aka-chin returned to his real self already…" Murasakibara mumbled.

Kuroko turned to the group. "I have to go home now. I will see you soon."

Just like that, Kuroko vanished from the eyes of the four people left.

* * *

Kuroko was on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Although his face revealed no emotion, in his heart he was truly excited for the future that awaited him. He had new friends at Seirin. He got his old friends back. What else could he have asked for?

"Only if the past wasn't so bad." Kuroko said to himself. He shook his head. No, there was no way to change what had happened in the past. The past is gone, and all that mattered was the present and the future. He reached for a book he borrowed from the library at Seirin. Kuroko stared at the cover. It was blank except for the title: _Rewriting the Past._ It was obviously a novel. He flipped to the first page. What he read was unexpected.

_Tetsuya Kuroko. The tale of the "Phantom Sixth Man" begins._

Kuroko flipped to the next page. It was an empty page.

And the rest of the book was empty, too. What kind of book did he borrow from the library? When he borrowed this book, he flipped through the pages, too, and it was filled with words. What happened to the story? He looked outside the window, and something didn't seem right.

"The lights are going out." Kuroko grabbed his cell phone before it was too late. The flickering lights outside, the mysterious book – it couldn't be that he was just paranoid, right? He called the first person on his contacts list, which was Akashi, since the list was arranged in alphabetical order.

"This is Akashi Seijuro-"

"Akashi-kun! Is anything happening outside?" Kuroko yelled into his phone.

"Kuroko?" Akashi was surprised at Kuroko's words. And obviously, Kuroko thought, Akashi was back to his real self this time. Only his real self called people by their last name. "Outside? Let me check."

Kuroko could hear some shuffling in the background as Akashi looked outside. "Nothing is happening – wait, the lights are flickering. Only the ones outside my house, though."

"Do you know why?" Kuroko asked.

"I don't know why this would be happening." Akashi replied calmly. It was the first time Akashi admitted that he didn't know something. "It's probably just a power shortage. I will investigate-"

Akashi never finished his sentence. Both of their cell phones shut down at the same time, and the world became black. The next time they both wake up, there would be a completely different life waiting for them.

* * *

Kuroko opened his eyes when an annoying alarm clock started beeping. He lazily reached his hand to press the snooze button. He didn't need to open his eyes to know where the button was. He pressed hard on where the snooze button was, but…

Kuroko opened his eyes. His hand was on a different alarm clock. He sat up immediately, observing the changes. The room was incredibly neat. He slipped off his bed and staggered to the closet. He yanked open the closet. The uniforms in the closet belonged to Teiko Junior High, not Seirin High. He dug around the room. Everything was different except for the book.

Kuroko sat on his bed and opened the book again. Although the book was still mostly blank, a new sentence was written on the first page.

_ Tetsuya Kuroko. The tale of the "Phantom Sixth Man" begins._

_It was the first day of Teiko Junior High._

_This can't be happening_, Kuroko thought. He looked for his cell phone. It was certainly the old model flip phone that he owned when he was in Teiko. He opened up the contacts list. Unfortunately, only one contact existed on the list: Shigehiro Ogiwara. The only things on his phone seemed to be the texts and calls from this childhood friend. Kuroko pinched himself on the cheek. The skin turned red and nerves signaled the pain to the brain. He wasn't dreaming.

Kuroko sighed and looked at the clock. It's still early in the morning. He slid down from his bed and retrieved his Teiko uniform and quickly dressed for school. He wasn't happy when he found out that he was even smaller than before.

When he was about to step out the front door of his house, his cell phone rang. Kuroko flipped it open. An unknown number was displayed on the screen. Kuroko was thinking about ignoring it, but he accepted the call anyway. If anyone calls this early in the morning, it has got to be something important. Plus, that number looked quite… familiar.

"Hello?" Kuroko spoke into his cell phone, "Who is this?"

"Kuroko?" A questioning voice said, "Do you… recognize my voice?"

Kuroko paused for a moment. "Akashi-kun?"

Although Kuroko could not see Akashi over the phone, Kuroko knew that Akashi was relieved when he said his name.

"Where are you?" Akashi asked.

"Right in front of my house. Going to Teiko."

"Stay there. I'm coming over."

"Huh?" Kuroko said before the call abruptly ended. Akashi was… coming over to his house? Kuroko could not help but wonder why he would need to come over to his house.

He did as he was told. After all, defying Akashi wasn't a good idea, especially if you valued your life. Defying Akashi even when he was back to his real self wasn't an option, either. However nice Akashi may seem to be currently, Kuroko knew that Akashi still considered himself "the emperor" to some degree.

After a few minutes, a fancy, glistening car drove up to Kuroko's driveway. The driver, dressed in an expensive black suit, stepped over to the side and opened the door to the left of the car. The red haired boy stepped out, looking quite smug as he observed Kuroko's shocked expression.

"Didn't know that I was this rich?" Akashi said.

Kuroko's shocked expression faded away, much to Akashi's dislike. "No. I was just surprised that you knew my address."

Akashi frowned and switched topics. "What happened to us?"

"I don't know," Kuroko said, "I must have dragged you into this place with me when I called you. And today seems to be the first day of Teiko Junior High."

"Hmm," Akashi stared at Kuroko, "Do you know anything that might help us figure out what happened to us?"

Kuroko mumbled, "I have something in my room that might be a clue."

"Let's go." Akashi grabbed Kuroko's arm and dragged him into the house.

Kuroko realized that it was the first time he invited someone into his room.

"A book?" Akashi flipped through the book titled _Rewriting the Past_, "Interesting. The only words so far are on the front cover, the first page, and the back cover."

"Back cover?" Kuroko questioned. There wasn't anything on the back cover before.

"The back cover explains quite a lot, actually. I think I understand our situation now." Akashi handed Kuroko the book. Kuroko silently skimmed through the words on the back cover.

_Rewriting the past. Maybe you never wanted the past to be this way. But your future has been very satisfying, and between the two, which is more important?_

_ This world's path has gone astray. The only ending it can arrive at now is your ending or its original bad end._

_ Remember, your ending originated from your past. It is up to you to decide whether you want this world to be destroyed ultimately in the end. When an ending is reached, you will go back to your world._

_ It's your choice whether you want to rewrite this past._

"Kuroko, answer me very honestly," Akashi stared at Kuroko with his scary eyes, "Do you want to change this world into your past?"

Kuroko stared back into Akashi's eyes.

_Only if the past wasn't so bad._

"…Yes. The book said that if we don't change this world, then everything would be destroyed, right?" Kuroko answered with a black expression, "Then I will change this world's past into my past. Into a future where all of us are friends again."

It took a moment for Akashi to decide whether Kuroko was lying to him. When he finally read Kuroko's blank expression correctly, Akashi slightly smiled.

"Good. Come with me." Akashi decided to drag Kuroko downstairs.

"Are we going to Teiko?" Kuroko asked while being dragged.

"Yes, Kuroko," Akashi smirked, "In my car."

* * *

_Remember, Kuroko. If you want the future of this world to be your future, follow your past. Don't let anything from your past change._

That was what Akashi said in the car on the way to Teiko. From what Kuroko understood, this world was destined to fall apart. But if Kuroko and Akashi manages to change this world into their own world, then this world would also arrive at Kuroko's future. That means that Kuroko has to do whatever he can to make the world match up with his past. However, can Kuroko really just sit there while the Teiko basketball team falls apart? And would Kuroko be able to stand watching Aomine abandon him again…? Plus, what would happen to Akashi, since this Akashi was also from a different world? Kuroko had so many questions unanswered. Perhaps he can somehow find Akashi again and ask him.

It was just as Kuroko remembered it. Big crowds surrounded Teiko, calling for students to join their clubs. Kuroko passed by all the crowds without anyone noticing him. He was carrying a book like last time; however, he was actually carrying the book _Rewriting the Past_ because he felt like carrying it around. He stared at the blank pages of the book as he walked.

When the bell rung, students ran around, trying to find their homeroom. Kuroko hurried straight for the homeroom, knowing exactly what his schedule was. He took his seat in the back even though his teacher didn't assign him a seat yet. He closed the book and shoved it in his backpack. Students were just starting to arrive. The only Generation of Miracle here is Midorima with his lucky item of the day: a toothpick. Eventually, the others that were in the same class as Kuroko as he remembered it – Murasakibara, Kise, and Aomine – arrived with a tired look. If Kuroko remembered right, Akashi was the only Generation of Miracle that was not in his class.

But it seemed that the world was already different from Kuroko's past when Akashi took a seat next to Kuroko with a shiny red pair of scissors sticking out of his pocket.

"Akashi-kun. Why are you here?" Kuroko turned around and stared at Akashi.

"Oh, Kuroko. I didn't know you were here." Akashi smiled. Kuroko knew he was lying. "I asked for a schedule change."

"What happened to changing this world into my past? You weren't in my class in my past." Kuroko replied.

Akashi chuckled, "This is an exception."

"But-"

Akashi's eye colors suddenly changed. "No buts." He concluded the conversation with just that. There was no use arguing with him. Even Kuroko had to admit that being able to switch personalities depending on the situation was indeed quite useful. To Akashi, at least.

Kuroko put his head down on the table and fell asleep. His sensei didn't even notice that he was sleeping.

* * *

At the gym after school, crowds of tall, muscular, and confident boys lined up in front of the coach, Naoto Sanada.

"The team will be split into three strings." The coach announced, "We will begin placing you into the strings after we test your physical abilities."

From the side, Akashi glanced at Kuroko. Kuroko was unaware that his palms were sweaty. _I have to make sure that I don't get first string, _Kuroko thought.

Kuroko watched others being tested. Those who were exceptionally good were, of course, the Generation of Miracles.

"Has anyone here not tested yet?" Sanada yelled. Kuroko walked up to Sanada.

"Umm, I…"

"Last call! Has anyone not been tested yet?"

"Umm, coach, I haven't been…"

"Okay, I think that's it- Ahh!" Sanada jumped when he felt a ghostly tap on his shoulder. "Wh-where did you come from?"

"I was standing here the whole time." Kuroko said.

"W-well, excuse me. Now let's get to testing." Sanada handed Kuroko the ball. Kuroko noticed that the coach was shaking a little from the sudden surprise.

Sanada watched as Kuroko purposely failed at everything- shooting, dribbling, and surprisingly, even passing, although Kuroko had to admit that it was very hard to fail at his specialty.

The coach looked fairly disappointed when Kuroko returned the basketball to the coach.

Sanada called for everyone's attention. When he announced the results of the testing, everything went just as planned: Kuroko received a position in the third string, while the rest of the Generation of Miracles easily made it to the first string, shocking every senpai. Kuroko was a bit sad, though, since he had to go through this humiliation again. Not that anyone would laugh at him, since no one noticed him anyway.

Kuroko packed up silently and walked out of the gym alone. He planned to walk to the restaurant nearby for a vanilla milkshake, but he was instead stopped by a certain someone.

"Where do you think you're going, Tetsuya?" The 'other' Akashi caught up. Why did he have to switch to the 'other' Akashi at a time like this?

"I am going to get a vanilla milkshake for dinner." Kuroko stated.

Akashi frowned. "A vanilla milkshake for dinner? I think you better come with me, Tetsuya," He forcefully dragged Kuroko along towards his car. Kuroko, with his low physical strength, couldn't free his arm.

"Akashi-kun," Kuroko protested, "I can't eat much."

Kuroko refused to get into Akashi's car. Akashi glared at Kuroko. "Do you _dare _to disobey me?"

Kuroko got into his car.

* * *

Please review! Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the very late update. It's really hard to type a chapter with a sprained finger (from basketball, ironically). I wanted to try playing basketball, and I guess that didn't really work out. :(

Anyway, first off I'm really sorry that this chapter is basically just stuff that already happened in the manga. But I promise the next chapters would be more original!

Enjoy!

* * *

Instead of getting his vanilla milkshake at the usual restaurant, Kuroko was dragged to one of the most expensive restaurants around half an hour away. Now seated at a table for two, Akashi and Kuroko looked through the menu for dinner together.

"Where are your parents?" A waitress dressed in a fancy black suit strolled up to them. The waitress knew how expensive the food can be in this particular restaurant. How can a couple of kids afford the price?

"Mind your own business." Akashi said with dignity. The waitress had a feeling that he shouldn't argue back.

"Y-yes, of course. What would you like to order then, sirs?"

"Hmm," Akashi proceeded to order the most expensive items on the menu, from steak to seafood. The waitress struggled to remember the complete list of items.

"And you, sir?" The waitress turned towards Kuroko. Kuroko looked up with big eyes, suddenly hopeful.

"Do you have a vanilla-"

"That will be all." Akashi interrupted. Kuroko stared at Akashi. Akashi glared back.

The waitress felt bad for the blue-haired boy, but instead of standing up against the other boy, he walked away with the huge list of orders. _Those brats better be able to pay for all of this, _the waitress thought.

"Akashi-kun. All I need is a vanilla milkshake." Kuroko pouted. Akashi chuckled.

"No wonder you're so pale."

After another staring contest, Kuroko sighed. He gave up arguing with Akashi. After all, Akashi wins at everything.

"Are you prepared for what comes next, Kuroko?" Akashi said, "You do remember what comes next, correct?"

"Yes." Kuroko looked down. "I just have to fail a few more tests, and then Aomine-kun…"

Akashi nodded. "Do your best."

The rest of the meal was silent.

* * *

"…To those who didn't make it this time around, let's work hard for next time!" The coach yelled. Kuroko stayed behind in the third string again and again. _Just a little more, _Kuroko thought, _and I can finally be in the first string._

"Practicing over time?" The coach asked. Kuroko had gone to the coach's office and requested to stay over time. Not only was it necessary to do so, but Kuroko also needed to resume practicing his Phantom Shot and Vanishing Drive in secret.

"…Make sure to return the key and go home when school closes." The coach sighed and handed over the keys. Kuroko took them and bowed before heading to the third string gym.

Kuroko dragged over the cart of basketballs. He first practiced dribbling from one side of the court to the other, and then also using his Ignite Pass Kai. After dribbling, he took his stance and with the palm of his hand, pushed the ball upwards. The ball disappeared and went through the hoop perfectly.

"Your accuracy is getting better." A figure appeared from behind.

"Akashi-kun, you're not supposed to be here." Kuroko said without turning around and made another shot.

"Does it matter? Aomine is not coming tonight." Akashi grabbed a ball from the cart and spun it on one finger. "Even if anyone hears us talking, nothing will change."

Kuroko suddenly passed his ball to Akashi using Ignite Pass. Akashi caught it with one hand.

"How about we just practice together until Aomine appears?" Akashi chuckled and, despite his height, jumped and dunked.

"Show off." Kuroko whispered. Akashi didn't hear it.

* * *

Momoi was not frightened by the rumor. A ghost? Was that even possible? The rumor was causing a lack of concentration within the second and third strings. All day, all the players thought about was: What if the ghost appeared in daytime? What if the ghost suddenly attacked them during practice? Momoi thought that it was stupid. But to get the second and third strings back together, she had to provide proof that it was just some nasty rumor started by this member with no common sense. Momoi decided to go to the gym at night by herself.

Inside the gym, Kuroko and Akashi was practicing together again. While dribbling the ball, Akashi started a conversation with Kuroko.

"It's tomorrow, isn't it?" Akashi said and threw the ball to Kuroko. Kuroko slapped the ball back to Akashi instead of catching it.

"Yes, it is tomorrow. Aomine-kun will come." Kuroko replied. Akashi shot the ball into the hoop.

Outside, Momoi couldn't hear much of the conversation. She did, however, pick up some words and phrases from the conversation, including 'tomorrow', 'he will come', 'the phantom', and '_Aomine_'.

Momoi covered her mouth with one hand. She pieced the bits and pieces together. _Tomorrow, the phantom will come and kill Aomine. _Aomine was in big trouble! Now absolutely horrified, Momoi dashed back home, trying to call Aomine with her cell phone. Aomine didn't pick up. Stupid Aomine! Why would he not pick up at a time like this?

At the other side of the city, Aomine's phone was sitting on the table beside Aomine's bed. Aomine yawned and picked up the phone. The power was dead. Aomine sighed and put it back on the table. _I guess I will charge it tomorrow_, he thought and fell asleep on his bed.

"There's a rumor going around that recently… A ghost has been showing up around here!" Momoi told Aomine right after practice.

"What? Quit joking around, Satsuki." Aomine made a wrinkled face that was worth capturing on the camera.

"I'm telling you, it's true!" Momoi persisted.

Kuroko was outside the first string gymnasium, listening to the conversation. Each string actually practiced in three different gymnasiums, but Kuroko lacked presence to the point that he could slip away to the first string gym without anyone noticing. Kuroko peeked through the doors of the gym. No one noticed that he was eavesdropping.

"I heard it, too! I heard the sound of basketballs being dribbled… And someone talking! Or maybe it was two ghosts. I'm not sure…" Momoi looked down on the basket of clothes that she was holding. After this conversation, she had to wash the clothes along with other girls who volunteered to help the basketball team. "Also, I overheard the ghosts' conversation! They said that they were going to kill you today!"

Aomine froze. "C-come on, it's not April Fools." Aomine laughed. "Plus, I'm not going to check it out for you no matter what you say."

Kuroko wasn't sure whether the conversation was supposed to be like that. Did Kuroko and Akashi mention to word 'kill' in their conversation? If Aomine doesn't go to the third string gym at night, then the entire world would be different. Akashi apparently overheard the conversation, too, and walked over.

"Aomine. Why are you slacking off?" Akashi said, "I'll tell Captain Nijimura to triple your training. Also, clean the third string gymnasium tonight."

Aomine dropped his basketball. The basketball slowly rolled away.

"Wait, Akashi! I'm not slacking off! I'm just talking to Satsuki!" Aomine protested. Akashi glared at Aomine. Aomine backed down.

"Well-I can do triple training, sure. But can I not clean the third string gym? Can I clean the second string instead?" Aomine scratched his head, "Satsuki said that I'm going to be killed today if I go to the third string gymnasium. Either way, both gyms are the same size."

"The size doesn't matter, Aomine. And are you telling me that you are scared of death? If so, you do not deserve to be here. No one here to be scared of a single ghost."

"Ghosts. I think that there was more than one." Momoi pointed out.

"Oh really? I heard that there was only one. You must have heard it wrong. There is no way that there would be two ghosts." Akashi argued with his usual face. Kuroko chuckled.

"Why is it impossible that there would be two ghosts?" Momoi asked.

Akashi glared at both of them. "Because I said so."

Akashi walked back to the middle of the court with his basketball and started talking to the captain. Aomine sat in the corner of the gym, depressed. _Triple training coming, _Aomine thought, _and cleaning duty in a haunted gym tonight, where I might possibly die. Fun._

* * *

"You've been getting lost in your thoughts quite often recently, Akashi." Midorima told Akashi on their way home.

"Hm? Ah… I suppose so." Akashi replied like he did in the past.

"Is it about the national championship?" Midorima asked.

Akashi remembered replying to this question, telling Midorima about the Phantom Sixth Player than he wanted on his team. Akashi looked away, towards the third string gymnasium.

"…No. I am confident that we will do well, as long as tonight goes as planned." Akashi said, "I just wonder whether everything can go according to our past."

"As planned? Our past? Akashi, you're not making much sense." Midorima said.

"Oh, sorry… I just said too much." Akashi looked up to Midorima. "Just forget what I just said."

Midorima just couldn't forget, as much as he feared disobeying Akashi. After all, it wasn't easy trying to forget something so… peculiar.

* * *

"WHOA!" Aomine screamed. He dropped his mop that he was supposed to clean the gym with and huddled up in the corner, tears threatening to leak. _I'm going to die, _Aomine thought, _Damn you, Akashi. I'm going to die._

"Aomine-kun?" Kuroko stopped dribbling his basketball and stepped towards Aomine.

"Eh?" Aomine looked up with tears in his eyes.

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya… Third string." Kuroko introduced himself, "Pleased to meet you."

Kuroko told him what he told him in the past. That he had been practicing basketball every night, trying to get promoted to first string. And that there was no ghost in the gym.

"All right! I've decided!" Aomine shouted all of a sudden, "I'll practice here with you every day from now on! And one day, let's stand on the same court together!"

Kuroko smiled. "Thank you so much, Aomine-kun."

"By the way, Satsuki said that she heard someone talking about... killing me." Aomine said, "Were you talking to someone, Tetsu?"

Kuroko shook his head almost too quickly. "Of course not." _I knew I should have kicked Akashi out of the gym instead of letting him practice with me, _Kuroko thought.

Aomine patted Kuroko on his head and grinned, "Well of course you wouldn't talk to yourself! Plus, you wouldn't talk about killing anyone, because you can't be a bad guy if you like basketball!" Aomine held out his fist.

Kuroko lifted up his own hand and fist bumped Aomine for the first time in this world.

"_One day, let's stand on the same court together!"_

_Yes, let's stand on the court together, _Kuroko smiled,_ and I will be your shadow forever._

* * *

The coach didn't tell Kuroko to quit the basketball team. Therefore, Kuroko never said anything about quitting the basketball team. Instead, he practiced every day with Aomine, trying to pick up some tips on how to shoot.

"Well, I think that's it for today, Tetsu." Aomine grinned. Kuroko put his basketball back into the cart and packed up.

As planned, Akashi and the rest of the Generation of Miracles came into the building.

"Aomine, I knew that you would be here." Akashi smirked like a know-it-all, "Along with Kuroko Tetsuya."

Wait, it wasn't supposed to be like that.

"...Akashi, you know the blue-haired boy beside Aomine?" Midorima fixed his glasses, "I've never seen him before. I highly doubt that he's a good player."

Akashi quickly shot an intense glare in Midorima's direction. Midorima shuddered. What was with Akashi lately? Midorima had never seen Akashi being so defensive about someone before.

"Would the rest of you mind going back ahead of us?" Akashi asked. It was actually more of a command than a request, since if anyone disobeyed, their death would most likely be caused by a pair of scissors. "I want to talk with him for a bit."

"All right then, Akachin~" Murasakibara crunched on his potato chips and hopped out the door cheerfully, not giving a care about what might have been going on.

"…" Midorima obeyed and walked out with Murasakibara. He closed the door of the gymnasium slowly.

"Akashi-kun. What do you want to talk about?" Kuroko said after the door completely closed. "I don't think that I would appreciate it if you said the exact same thing as before. I am not really in the mood to listen to you talk about my special talent."

"Oh yes, I am going to say the same thing as before. You have a special talent… And I have high expectations for you." Akashi smirked. "You will make a great addition to the team, but it's up to you to discover the way to use your… lack of presence."

"Why can't we just talk about something else?" Kuroko said.

Akashi pointed to the doors and mouthed 'Midorima'. If Akashi remembered correctly, Midorima was right outside the doors, listening.

Kuroko realized what the situation was and nodded. They can't let Midorima be suspicious of them, since Midorima was the smartest of the Generation of Miracles, excluding Akashi and Kuroko.

"Using my lack of presence… Is that even possible?"

"You have to figure that out yourself." Akashi turned to the doors and pushed it open, "And Midorima, stop eavesdropping and go home."

Midorima stumbled forwards, dropping his lucky item of the day, a pack of tissue. "Shit. I knew I shouldn't have listened. I don't have a lot of luck today." He adjusted his glasses and rushed to home.

"Kuroko. You want to go home together?" Akashi offered.

"No thank you. I'll walk home." Kuroko said.

Akashi shrugged. "Your test will be tomorrow. I think that you should be ready to be in the first string, hm?" He picked up his own bag and walked out of the gym with a wave.

"Yes, Akashi-kun. Tomorrow, I will be ready." Kuroko whispered, although Akashi already left. He picked up a basketball and passed it across the gym.

* * *

"Hey Tetsu," Aomine caught up with Kuroko in the morning before class started, "I heard your test is today."

Ever since Aomine started practicing with Kuroko, they have been hanging out together. And Aomine was the first of the Generation of Miracle to realize that Kuroko was in their class.

"Isn't it too early for you to take the test, though? I mean, he just told you to figure out your talent yesterday." Aomine retrieved one of his infamous magazines from his backpack and flipped through it, admiring every single picture within. Kuroko looked away from the glaring pictures of women with big boobs.

"I'm ready, Aomine-kun." Kuroko said as a pair of scissors sliced apart the magazine Aomine was holding. The scissors implanted itself into the wall across the classroom.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Aomine screamed as his favorite picture and magazine was torn apart, "AKASHI ISN'T EVEN HERE!"

"I think I heard something about me." Akashi entered the classroom. The classroom fell silent as the dark aura approached.

Kuroko looked around the classroom, wondering where the scissors were launched from.

Akashi whispered in Aomine's ear. "Be careful, Aomine. The next time you get out another one of those magazines in front of Kuroko-" a gleaming pair of scissors glistened in Akashi's hands, "This pair of scissors would find its way into your room at night."

Akashi took his seat next to Kuroko. Aomine sat like a statue.

_Dammit, what happened to Akashi, _Aomine thought, _I thought that he just met Tetsu yesterday! Why is he so defensive?_

"Good morning, Kuroko." Akashi said, "Are you ready for the test today?"

"Good morning, Akashi-kun. By the way, where did you launch those scissors from?"

Akashi smirked, "Well, I guess you would have you find out yourself."

* * *

At the basketball meet in the afternoon, Kuroko was ordered by Akashi to be at the first string gym instead of the third string gym.

"Where is Kuroko Tetsuya?" Sanada looked around with his clipboard in his hand, "He is nowhere to be found."

"Coach, I'm right here." Kuroko waved his hand in front of the coach.

The coach gave a girly scream that caused everyone to drop their basketballs to turn and see what was going on. Aomine laughed loudly. _If Takao-kun was here, he would be the one laughing with Aomine-kun, _Kuroko thought.

Flustered, Sanada ignored Aomine and cleared his throat. "You're playing with the third string against the second string today. Line up!"

Kuroko ran to the center of the gym and joined the line of third strings. The two strings bowed to each other.

"Tip off!"

The second string obtained the ball first. The player passed the ball to No. 6 of the team. No. 6 dribbled to the other basket with a grin. If he made the basket, then the coaches would no doubt be impressed with his skills and promote him to the first string…

"By the way, Akashi," Midorima began, "When are you going to tell me about what you find so special about Kuroko Tetsuya? I highly doubt that he is special, and his physical abilities are much lower than the rest of the basketball team members. He doesn't even have a presence-"

_Hm?_ Midorima thought, _Where is Kuroko Tetsuya anyway?_

"Why don't you keep watching the match? I'm sure you will find out." Akashi said.

Back on the court, No. 2 of the second string looked around, confused. "Hey, where did that guy go?" He looked around but could not locate the pale, blue-haired boy anywhere. He lost his target.

"It's a dunk!" Someone from the sidelines yelled as No. 6 lifted his feet off the ground and attempted to dunk. However, one member of the third string jumped at the same time, knocking the ball out of No. 6's hand.

"Crap!" No. 6 yelled as he watched the ball hit the gym floor beneath.

"Don't worry!" No. 2 ran from halfway across the court and closed onto the ball, "I got it!"

No. 2 reached for the ball. No. 6 grinned happily, since he knew that No. 2 was a competent player. However, it took him to realize that if No. 2 was here, then that meant that his target was gone.

"Hey, where's that shorty-" No. 6 landed on his feet. When No. 2's hand was a millimeter away from the ball, the ball suddenly changed its course. The basketball shot across the gym to the other side of the court, where a third string player caught the ball with surprise.

"Wha… Huh?" The player stood with the ball in his hands.

"SHOOT IT!" Kuroko yelled as hard as he could. The player jumped and the ball landed in the hoop perfectly.

"He made it! What happened?" Someone yelled.

"It's that guy! Er, the guy with no presence!" Another person yelled.

Kuroko continued passing the ball around. His team members continued catching the basketball with surprise.

Nijimura was shocked. How did that even happen?

"Misdirection." Akashi ignored the surprised Midorima next to him and walked over to his captain, "Redirecting people's vision to elsewhere… Incorporated with his lack of presence, it almost seems like he can vanish."

"I… see…" Nijimura sighed, "So… you already know that it was going to turn out like this?"

Akashi thought for a moment. "Yes, I suppose," Akashi smiled, "It was within my expectations."

Nijimura didn't bother asking Akashi about how he could have guessed that Kuroko would incorporate misdirection in his basketball. All Nijimura figured was that when it came to basketball (and basically everything else), Akashi was always right. Even Nijimura couldn't deny that.

The game quickly ended with a ten point difference. The third string won, and the second string was crushed.

"… Kuroko Tetsuya. You will be joining the first string today." The coach stated. While all the other members of the third string cursed, Kuroko remained silent and headed to the first string gym.

Kuroko stood in front of the first string gym doors. He took a deep breath.

It was just like before, when he was first welcomed into the first string.

Kuroko pushed open the doors. Inside, he was greeted by the strongest members of the Teiko basketball team.

Murasakibara. Midorima. Haizaki. Nijimura. Aomine. Akashi. The future Generation of Miracle, minus Kise.

"Hey, you finally made it, Tetsu!" Aomine grinned.

Akashi turned around and smiled. "Hey, I was waiting for you."

He walked over to Kuroko.

"Engrave this to your very being. From this moment onwards, you have but one mission-" Akashi's smile faded, "To win."

Kuroko nodded.

In Seirin, they played to enjoy basketball.

In Teiko, they played to win.

* * *

I included many quotes from chapter 205 and 206. Since now Kuroko is in the first string, the GOM would appear way more often and I would start including more school life stuff. :)

Thanks for reading! Please review!


End file.
